Clay alright to use with Fiberglass Resin??

[Hollydell]

Hey MerNetwork <3

everywhere I look people are purchasing Monster Clay to use as well there clay for their Mermaid tail stages. I was wondering if other clay was useable?

I saw PearlieMae posted a link to silicone compatible clay but that has to be ordered in as well. has anyone tried using clay from a store like michaels or another crafting store?
I've read on a couple cosplay sights you can protect any clay with a couple layers of release agent... has anyone tried this route?

[Samantha Sleeman]

It needs to be sulfer free and a oil based clay as if not the resin might not cure and if there is any clay residue left in the mood the silicone will deffenatly not cure ( I was in that boat and found out the hard way). So if any local shops sell oil based and sulfer free clay then that will be fine but if is not sold in shops you will have to order it

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Samantha's right, anything sulfur free is fine, but you have to be sure! Also, using a gel coat first with fibreglass resin is a good idea, it helps to avoid bubbles.

[Hollydell]

Wow thanks!
Is it okay to use the fiberglass resin for the gel coat as well? just make a thin layer with the resin and then put the full resin after the first coat dries?

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I've tried that, and because the normal resin is very very runny, it doesn't tend to stay on the high parts of your sculpt. This gets to be a problem when the resin hardens, as it pulls away from the clay slightly, so your next coats will have weird ridges and bubbles in them (I spent ages sanding them out of my first fluke sculpt, would not reccomend). If you have a relatively flat sculpture, it may work okay, but I think the gel coat is still worth it. Just make sure you leave it to cure long enough before putting normal fibreglass over the top, otherwise it will crinkle.
As a side note, if you're going to be casting silicone in the mould, wait about a week before using the mould as it will still be releasing gasses that will inhibit the cure. After 6-7 days, it is fine to use!

[Hollydell]

okay, do you know the name of the gel coat material you used?

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

It's just called 'gel coat', you can get it from fibreglass supply stores :)

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I did a quick google search, given I can see that you're from British Columbia, and there are several stores around. What I'm talking about is this stuff, although you'll have to ask about the difference between waxed and unwaxed, as I've not seen that before: http://www.fibertek.ca/unwaxedgelcoat.htm

[Hollydell]

wow! thanks so much for taking the time to do that <3 :D

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

No worries, I figured it was easier for me to show you what I meant :)

[Hollydell]

I found my gelcoat and I found my sulfur free, oil based clay called Van Aken Plastalina clay <3 wish me some luck with my test samples :D
Thank you so much!!!!! :yay::dance::hail:

[PearlieMae]

The plastilina will be just fine. I use it all the time. Good luck!

[Hollydell]

Ahh Mini fan girl freak out XD
Thanks Pearlie! glad to hear it! <3

[sculptor]

You can use water based clay and still make a fiberglass mold, but the clay has to be sealed really well. I've most often seen PVA (poly vinyl alcohol). It needs to seal out the moisture. The trade off is that water base clay costs much less, and is faster to sculpt, But it harder to keep wet for long periods of time and doesn't work well for very thin items and has to be sealed well. PVA is almost as unpleasant to work with as fiberglass resin.

[Mermaid Lieke]

In Belgium nobody seems to know anything about sulfer free clay. I bought a few test clays. Can I test if it is sulfer free by putting small pieces of clay in a container, pour silicone directly onto the clay. If it cures, I would guess that it's sulfer free. Is that a correct assumption? I tried one clay already, and it just cured without any problems. Since I already lost a mold, I don't want to risk losing it twice. And the first mold was made with clay that should be sulfer free, but apparently wasn't. So I don't want to take any more risk. Btw, I did a few more tests in the mold to see if I did anything else wrong, but i can't find another explanation. Why don't they have to put the ingredients on the package like food?

[PearlieMae]

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=sulphur%20free%20sculpting%20clay%20available% 20in%20belgium

http://www.scarva.com/en/us/Chavant-Modelling-Clay---Medium-Sulphur-Free-Plasteline/m-3464.aspx Worldwide shipping

[Dancing Fish]

To answer an earlier question, Michael's plastilina clay is also sulfur free, though I like the Van Aken brand better for sculpting fine details. I've been adding clay to modify my existing molds and it's great, no inhibition of the cure.